


Who is Mike Margolis?

by calicomary



Series: Breaking Bad&MCU crossover? How does that even work? [2]
Category: Breaking Bad, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, SPOILERS!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-05-23
Packaged: 2018-01-26 05:35:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1676609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calicomary/pseuds/calicomary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony and Bruce investigate a carpentry shop owned by Mike Margolis (it's really Jesse Pinkman).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Self-control means wanting to be effective at some random point in the infinite radiations of my spiritual existence.

**Author's Note:**

> There are heavy spoilers here. If you haven't seen Breaking Bad (and I know there are a lot of you out there) there is information in here that is crucial to character development on the show and you should really watch it before reading a summary of events. If you have friends who've seen it and can't stop bugging you about it, I'm sorry (I'm one of those people who can't stop bugging friends about it). It is a true masterclass not just of television but of modern media storytelling in general. Everything is top notch from the writing to the the cast to the cinematography to the wardrobe. 
> 
> If you haven't seen The Avengers (I imagine there are significantly fewer of you out there) you should give it a shot as well. Page to screen, it's the best comic book movie I've seen. Although, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is right up there with the Dark Knight and who knows what will happen when I see X-Men: Days of Future Past this weekend. Fuck The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Jesse turns away from rearranging the table display when he hears the bell over the door chime. The sun is setting so Jesse has to squint to make out the two men who have walked into his shop.

“Yo, welcome!” Jesse says with a smile, “How you guys doin’?”

“Fantastic,” says the man on the right as he whips off his expensive looking sunglasses and hooks them into the collar of his equally expensive looking shirt.

“Hey,” Jesse says as he glances from the man’s face to the copy of Forbes on the magazine rack. He points at the man and continues “Anybody ever tell you look   
like Tony Stark?”

“Yeah.” The man says, “I get that a lot.” He walks farther into the store and picks up a wooden box from a nearby shelf, “Which makes sense, because I am Tony Stark. This is my friend, Bruce Banner,” the second man gives a little half wave.

“Seriously? Wow, nice to meet you! I’m Mike,” Jesse says.

“Mike Margolis, right?” Tony asks.

“Uh,” Jesse frowns warily, “Yeah. How’d you know?”

“Well, you published a pretty important article in Chemistry Monthly five years ago that apparently Bruce and I have quoted in our own work. Funny thing is, neither of us remembers having read that article,” Tony says.

The color drains from Jesse’s face, “Uh, well, that’s actually. I mean, you’ve got the wrong Mike Margolis,” he says.

“I don’t think so. But I don’t think your name is really Mike Margolis, anyway. Is it, Jesse?” Tony smirks as he finishes.

Jesse runs behind the counter and slaps the red button underneath. He also pulls out his cell phone and hits number one on the speed dial, “Clint, yo, emergency. Like right now, red alert!”

Bruce raises his hands in a non-threatening manner and says, “Jesse, it’s okay. We’re not here to cause trouble. We’re just…curious.”

“I don’t know,” Jesse says into the phone, “There’s some like, Tony Stark impersonator and another guy and they know my real name,” he finishes in a whisper. Jesse walks backward towards the emergency exit while keeping a wary eye on the other men.

“Hey, no impersonator could replicate this,” Tony says, gesturing grandly to his own personage. 

Clint rockets through the back door wielding a hammer and has to pull up short so he doesn’t knock Jesse over, “Woah! Hey,” He says.

“Agent Barton?” Bruce asks.

Clint nods, lowering the hammer to his side, and says, “Dr. Banner, Stark. What are you guys doing here?”

“Uh, what are you doing here?” Tony asks back, “You realize Robin Hood was a nickname not a suggestion, right? You’re not actually supposed to cavort with criminals.”

“I’m here because Tony said we were gathering data for an experiment at Stark Tower” Bruce says, “He told me about this about 5 minutes ago.

“I told you it’s Avengers Tower now,” Tony mutters. “Anyway, back to the point at hand. What are you doing here?”

“Mike is a friend of mine,” Clint says.

“Are you aware that your friend is a plagiarist?” Bruce asks. 

Tony rolls his eyes and asks Bruce “Really? The guy is living under an assumed identity created by a ubiquitous and ridiculously secretive organization and you’re pissed off about on the academic violation. I mean, it’s annoying, but he’s no Andrew Wakefield,” Tony shifts his attention to Jesse, who has begun to breathe rapidly. Clint notices Jesse’s distress as well and lays a cautious hand on Jesse’s shoulder. Jesse flinches slightly but moves a hair closer to Clint.

Clint looks thoughtfully at the two scientists before him, then shrugs, “Ok, what do you think you know?” he asks.

“Fact one,” Tony says, holding up a finger” Michael Margolis did not write the article published in Chemistry Monthly. It was actually written as a small contribution to a Nobel Prize winning breakthrough in the 90s. Fact two,” a second finger pops up, “The article was written by Walter White, one of the supposed co-founders of Grey Matter although his former business partners have denounced him since the whole Heisenberg thing.”

“Heisenberg?” Bruce interrupts, “The physicist?”

“No, the drug kingpin. Jesus, you’re worse than Rogers sometimes. You know it wouldn’t hurt you to read a Rolling Stone every once in a while,” Tony says, and then turns his attention back to Clint. “Fact three: Mike Margolis bears a striking resemblance to one Jesse Pinkman, a known associate of Walter White, who was also the mastermind behind an international meth distribution ring. What I don’t know, is why he’s on SHIELD’s payroll and not behind bars.”

Jesse stumbles over to sit on a stool behind the cash register. He bends his head and wraps his hands around the back of his neck, mumbling, “Oh my god.”

Clint marches quickly to the store entrance, locks the door, and flips over the closed sign. Walking back to stand face to face with Tony, Clint asks, “Where did you get this information?”

“I’ve been binging on SHIELD information mentioning the Stark name for a few…weeks. It’s very entertaining in a narcissistic way,” Tony says.

“Have you talked to anyone else about it?” Clint asks.

“Just me,” Bruce says.

Clint nods and says, “Good. Keep it that way.”

Tony snorts, “Uh, no. Look, I can understand employing a former KGB agent because she has some skills that shady organizations like SHIELD like to exploit. But I can’t really get behind giving total scumbag like Jesse Pinkman a shiny new identity. Do you have any idea how many lives he’s ruined?”

“Hey fuck you, man!” Jesse says fiercely, piercing Tony with a ferocious glare, “How many innocent people died ‘cause of your bombs and shit?”

“Wow,” Tony says, “A meth cook comparing himself to billionaire who is leading the current technological revolution. You’ve got some chutzpa, I’ll give you that.” Turning his attention back to Clint, Tony continues, “You know I’m really starting to doubt SHIELD’s claim that they’re the good guys.”

“Stark, I’m asking nicely for you to not go public with this,” Clint says.

“Ooh, what’s it like when you’re not asking nicely?” Tony asks.

“Painful,” Clint says sharply.

“Look, I know you’re real proud of your novelty arrows but they’re not exactly a match for the angry green giant here,” Tony jerks a thumb toward Bruce.

Clint eyes Bruce appraisingly for a few moments as he goes over his options, “Point taken,” he says. “But before you go running off to give a press conference, would you mind listening to his side of the story? Sometimes the media can be a little biased when they’re covering hot button issues.” 

Tony eyes Jesse, who looks like he’s stuck in fight or flight mode, “It better be more satisfying than the ‘60 Minutes’ special.”

“Come on,” Jesse says and stands slowly. He turns to walk towards the exit door that Clint came in from, “The bachelor pad is upstairs.”


	2. Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.

“Is that a kangaroo?” Bruce asks as he examines a 3 paneled drawing that is framed on the wall.

Jesse glances over from putting a bag of popcorn in the microwave and says, ‘Uh, it used to be.” He punches the popcorn button and steps back.

“What is it now?” Bruce asks as he moves to peer closely at the second panel. The creature is crouching in the corner of a cell, its body littered with scars.

Jesse opens the door to the fridge and says “It’s this weird hybrid thing, you know? Like a science experiment gone wrong. I call him Kanga Man.” he juggles four Cokes out of the fridge. Handing one to Bruce he nods at the picture and says, “He’s actually part of a group created by this super villain guy, Dr. Chemistry.” 

“And who’s this, his sidekick?” Bruce guesses and points to the final panel which shows Kanga Man and a smaller kangaroo creature in its pouch.

“Yeah” Jesse says softly, “That’s Joey. He died during one of the experimental surgeries. It was kind of like Kanga Man’s motivation to escape and do good and stuff.”

Bruce nods in appreciation, “Sounds interesting. Kind of dark,” he says, moving to sit at the bar counter.

Jesse snorts and pops the tab of his can, “Yo, it’s a kangaroo,” he says “It’s not even a useful hybrid like a wolf man or a liger or something. But he’s got sentimental value. Kanga Man’s the first time I really tried to think outside the box.”

Clint has pulled Tony off to the side and growls softly, “Alright, we’re gonna have some ground rules, here.”

“You should know how I feel about rules by now,” Tony says, refusing to lower his voice.

 

“I’m serious. Let him control the conversation. Don’t ask questions,” Clint says sternly.

Tony drops his jaw, “You’re joking right. What kind of interrogator doesn’t ask questions?” he asks.

“This isn’t an interrogation,” Clint says. “This is you agreeing to see it from Jesse’s angle before making judgments about who deserves what. And don’t ever threaten me again,” he growls, “ You wouldn’t believe the kinds of tricks I’ve got in my arrows and they’re not the only tricks I know.”

Tony huffs a breath and says, “You know, I just had to go through this macho bullshit with Captain Tightpants and I’m not in the mood for another showdown, so I’ll let that one slide. I don’t suppose you have any rum to go in that Coke?” he asks Jesse.

“I think Clint has some whiskey,” Jesse says and gestures to a cabinet.

“You know I didn’t expect Heisenberg’s right hand man to be such a good host,” Tony says has he peruses the cabinet’s contents. “Ah, Wild Turkey. Nice.”

Jesse takes a deep breath and leans back against the pantry, “So, I may kinda jump around. My therapist says I gotta be careful about dwelling on stuff. I’m not trying to play the sympathy card or act like I’m some kind of innocent victim,” Jesse says. “It’s just, like, everyone assumes I converted him to the dark side. If you ask me, I think there was always something inside him, you know, and it was just waiting for something to let it out. And that something was cancer.” 

“Cancer?” Bruce furrows his brows in confusion.

“Yeah,” Jesse nods and says, “Stage 3A, that’s when it goes to the lymph nodes.”

“P.S. you’re talking to two people with more degrees than you have fingers so you don’t have to worry about explaining the science,” Tony says right before taking a sip of his whiskey, “Ow!” he grunts when Clint smacks him in the shoulder.

“Anyway, he found me first. I mean, he already knew me from chemistry class in high school but.” Jesse pauses and flinches back when he sees Bruce’s hand fly up.

“Wait. Walter White was your teacher?” Bruce asks.

Jesse’s focus has narrowed onto Bruce’s hand and he bites his lip. “Uh…yeah. It was actually…I was going through a really tough time with my parents for a lot of reasons and chemistry was, like, the last thing I cared about. He was always trying really hard to “reach” me, I guess, ‘cause I was really obvious about how I didn’t give a shit. He gave up eventually. A few years later he saw me almost get busted and he could’ve said something to his DEA brother-in-law, but he didn’t. Then he came to my house and I figured that he was there to, you know, get me back on the straight narrow. Like one last shot to do it right. But that wasn’t it.” Jesse rolls his coke can between his hands.

Tony waits patiently for three seconds, then asks, “And? Ow!” Tony winces and glares at Clint, “Stop that.”

“Stop prompting him,” Clint says.

“Clint, it’s ok. I’ve gotten used to talking about it,” Jesse says.

“See,” Tony says, “He’s gotten used to talking about it. With his therapist, I assume. So how long does it take to feel better about being an amoral asshole.”

“What the hell, yo?” Jesse shakes his head at Tony, “I invited you into my home and you’re drinking my friend’s whiskey. Think maybe you could show a little respect? Just ‘cause you fly around in a metal suit doesn’t mean you get to step on everybody all the time.”

“From what you’re saying, it sounds like Walter White saved your ass,” Tony says argumentatively.

Jesse steps forward, “He ruined my life, alright. There is no part of my existence right now that wouldn’t be better if I’d never seen him again after graduation,” he growls. After gritting his teeth for a few moments, Jesse continues, “Anyway, that’s how it started. It ended with Mr. White giving the ok for me to be tortured and killed by a bunch of psycho Neo Nazis. In between that there was a lot of lying and manipulating and people I cared about getting hurt just so he could keep me under his thumb.” Jesse leans back against the pantry and sips on his Coke. 

After a long pause, Bruce breaks the silence and says, “You know, you are making it sound like you’re the innocent victim here,” Bruce says.

Jesse stares at the floor and says, “No. I’m not innocent. I did hurt people. But I was a victim, too.”

“Yeah?” Tony says as pops some popcorn in his mouth, “How so?”

“What? You want a blow by blow?” Jesse asks.

“Look, if you want me to believe this narrative you’re constructing, that Walter White was some kind of puppet master then you’ve got to give me some specifics,” Tony says.

Jesse guffaws, “Specifics? You want specifics. Alright, here’s one. I had this girlfriend, this totally awesome girlfriend. She was super hot and super funny and smart and a real good artist and I loved her. But she was a heroin addict too. Then, one night she overdosed. And Mr. White was there. He saw her choking to death and he just…let it happen,” Jesse finishes, blinking furiously to keep in the tears threatening to fall. 

For a moment Tony actually lets his jaw hang open as if he were lost for words. He quickly gets back into his stride, though the sarcasm in his voice is a little forced when he says, “Well I guess that’s what you get for teaming up with the guy who built an international meth empire.”

Jesse doesn’t react to Tony’s baiting and blasé attitude when he responds contemplatively, “You know, after all this time, I still can’t quite figure out why. I mean, part of it makes sense I guess. That was back when he actually seemed to have real fatherly kind of feelings for me. She’d gotten me hooked on dope too and I could tell he was kind of sad about that. I needed to get clean and to do that you’ve got to hit rock bottom, which I did. But he knew how much I cared about her. He could’ve found a better way.” He finishes, shaking his head. 

Tony tosses back the rest of his whiskey in one gulp. His voice comes out a little gruff and it’s hard to tell if it’s from the burn of the alcohol or the recollection of his own twisted relationship with Obadiah Stain, “That is…tough. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Jesse meets Tony’s eyes and there is a fire in his own eyes as he continues, “And then there’s the time when we were in danger of being replaced as cooks for this cartel defeating genius criminal. And not just fired. Like, we were about to get taken out too because of some other…complicated shit. But we had the chance to get out of it and I told Mr. White that he should try and make a deal with the cops, I mean he could’ve got like witness protection or something and I’d hit the road too. But he wouldn’t do it. He convinced me that our only real option was to kill this completely innocent guy who was just in the wrong cluster-fuck at the wrong time,” Jesse pauses to gather some breath and closes his eyes, steeling himself for part of the story that always floored him, “So, you know, I did it. The guy begged me not to and I shot him in the face.” He shifts his gaze to the floor and says softly, “The truth is, I really am kind of easy to manipulate and Mr. White took advantage of that.”

Another long silence falls over the room until Bruce says, “Well, that does add some context to your problem. “

“Come on, Bruce. Think about this logically and tell me why we shouldn’t turn this guy over to a legitimate justice system,” Tony says, almost sound as if he were looking for reasons of his own.

“Well, the federal and state courts have pretty erratic statistics when it comes to determining culpability and mandatory minimums are out of control” Bruce points out.

Clint steps forward and says, “I also think it’s important to remember that aside from some distributors in the Czech Republic, there are no living accomplices significant enough to trump Jesse if he went to trial. They’d probably turn witness on him anyway. For all intents and purposes, he’d be the fall guy for a bunch of dead guys.”

“And I did get punished for it,” Jesse says earnestly, “I saved up a lot of bad karma and ended up as a meth slave for the Aryan Brotherhood for six months. I lived in a fucking hole in the ground for six months and spent every day breathing in poison for 5 months after my respirator got cracked. And they did whatever they wanted to me because they could. I mean,” Jesse waves his hand at Tony, “I think you know what that’s like, right?” 

Tony peers intently at Jesse. Then he switches his gaze to each man in the room before rolling his eyes, “Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I could understand how giving you up to the authorities may not actually be serving justice. In fact, I’ve always valued the rehabilitative approach over the punitive on,” Tony turns his attention to Clint, “That still doesn’t explain what the hell you’re doing here.”

“Uh, you know,” Clint says, crossing his arms and tilting his head in thought so he can choose his words carefully. “That’s a little complicated too.”

Jesse breaks into a grin, “I work the switchboard at SHIELD. It’s totally awesome. Except for that time when the aliens invaded. That was really stressful. I had to do a ton of yoga after that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. I'd also like to plug the documentary I'm working on that could really use some funding. It's regarding environmentalism and cultural survival.  
> http://www.gofundme.com/85prwo


End file.
